Dem Sen. Menendez Threatens to Block Obama Iran Nuclear Deal

A top Democratic senator threatened Wednesday to block any White House agreement with Iran that fails to stop the theocratic regime from building a nuclear bomb, as bipartisan suspicion grows in Washington that President Barack Obama is too desperate for a deal.

Sen. Robert Menendez, New Jersey Democrat, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. Mark Kirk, Illinois Republican, issued a joint statement that warned Obama that he must prevent Iran from "ever becoming a threshold nuclear-weapons state."

They insisted that any deal with Iran include "stringent limits"on nuclear-related research and development. An agreement must reveal "all possible military"applications for any Iranian nuclear-power program and ensure a "robust inspection and verification regime."

They also demanded that Obama maintain the financial sanctions that are crippling the regime until Iran complies the any deal.

Menendez and Kirk released their warning as South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham prepared to push forward with a bill Thursday to require the White House to get congressional approval for any Iran deal within days of signing an agreement, CNN reports.

The bill would cut off funding for the agreement if Obama refused to cooperate with Congress.

Graham told a hometown press conference in Greenville on Wednesday that he is one of about 12 Republicans pushing forward for the bill, called the Nuclear Negotiations Act of 2014, sponsored by Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn..

Bipartisan suspicion is so strong in Congress that some observers predict there is enough opposition to override a veto.

Obama is trying to meet a Nov. 24 deadline to reach a permanent deal with Iran over its suspected nuclear-weapons program. The West suspended some sanctions and Iran agreed to halt some of its nuclear-enrichment program under a six-month temporary agreement Iran reached earlier this year with the United States and five other world powers.

However, critics fear the Obama — longing for a major foreign-policy achievement — will accept a weak deal that fails to stop Iran from destroying its stockpile of enriched uranium or would allow it to crank up its efforts to process nuclear-weapons grade material on short notice.

They also worry Obama will relax critical sanctions on a regime widely accused of supporting Islamic terrorism and openly calling for the destruction of Israel.

A plunge in world oil prices is also bringing added economical pressure on Iran.

Iran calculated its current government budget on the assumption that oil would continue to sell for at least $100 a barrel. But the price dropped to $80 in October, causing an increase in the Iranian budget deficit and a decline of about 30 percent in oil revenues.

A top Democratic senator threatened Wednesday to block any White House agreement with Iran that fails to stop the theocratic regime from building a nuclear bomb, as bipartisan suspicion grows in Washington that President Barack Obama is too desperate for a deal.